August 22, 2023 Your Voices Heard: Campus Listening Sessions Summary Report Dear Members of the Baruch College Community, In Spring 2021, the Presidential Advisory Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (PACDEI) spearheaded the monumental initiative of leading campuswide Listening Sessions
to gauge experiences through the lens of equity and inclusion. We are thankful to the members of the College community—students, faculty, and staff—for their willingness to be vulnerable in sharing their deeply personal experiences. This
report provides a succinct summary of the culmination of the voices, experiences, and concerns aggregated during this process. Findings of these Listening Sessions have been shared with College leadership and have catalyzed reflection and difficult conversations
about the challenges members of the campus community face and how best to address them in a continued time of uncertainty and in the wake of the evolving complexities we face as a public institution of higher education. As I have indicated in my
blog, the PACDEI Listening Sessions were an important and integral part of the community engagement process for the
Strategic Plan 2023–28. The plan is a clear articulation of our institutional values and the College’s commitment to creating a culture of care and respect. I wish to express my sincere appreciation for the hard work and commitment of PACDEI, led by Co-Chairs Leslie Hunt, Director of Graduate Programs, Weissman School of Arts
and Sciences, and Samuel Johnson, Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology. The creation of this
report is a testament to their dedication. I also wish to extend special thanks to the research team who worked long and hard on synthesizing the information provided: Dr. Cristina Balboa, Associate Professor, Marxe School of Public and International Affairs;
Dr. Robert Kunicki, Director of New Student and Family Programs, Division of Student Affairs; and PACDEI Co-Chair Leslie Hunt. The findings from the Listening Sessions report will continue to inform College leadership and the conversations we have as a college community. We welcome
your feedback on how we can continue to create spaces for voicing experiences and how we can continue to create a culture of inclusion and belonging. Sincerely, S. David Wu, President Baruch College |